Ifeanyi Innocenti Emeghara (born 24 March 1984) is a Nigerian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender. He was deployed equally on the left and the right flank.

Club career

Partizan

After failing to find a club in Italy, Emeghara arrived to Partizan for a trial in January 2003, accompanied by compatriot Oladipupo Martins. They were both eventually assigned to affiliated club Teleoptik. After spending 18 months with the ''Optičari'', Emeghara was promoted to the Partizan first team in June 2004, penning his first professional contract on a four-year deal. He was given the number 16 shirt, previously worn by fellow countryman Taribo West. In his first season with the ''Crno-beli'', Emeghara established himself as the team's first-choice left-back, making 39 appearances in all competitions, as Partizan won the league title with an unbeaten record and reached the knockout stage of the UEFA Cup. In January 2006, Emeghara was transferred to Romanian club Politehnica Timișoara on a three-year deal.

Steaua București

In June 2007, Emeghara moved to Steaua București for a reported transfer fee of €1.2 million. His time with the ''Roș-albaștrii'' was plagued with injuries, particularly to his knees, causing him to make only 58 competitive appearances over the course of five seasons. In February 2013, after being out of contract for a year, Emeghara signed with Azerbaijani side Gabala.

International career

Emeghara made his international debut for

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

on 17 November 2007, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 friendly loss against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. He was named in

Berti Vogts Hans-Hubert "Berti" Vogts (; born 30 December 1946) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga his whole professional club career and won the FIFA World Cup wi ...

' 23-man squad for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, remaining an unused substitute during the tournament.

Career statistics

Honours

Partizan * First League of Serbia and Montenegro: 2004–05 Steaua București * Cupa României: 2010–11

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emeghara, Ifeanyi Living people 1984 births Nigerian men's footballers Footballers from Lagos Men's association football defenders Nigeria men's international footballers 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Liga I players Liga II players Azerbaijan Premier League players FK Teleoptik players FK Partizan players FC Politehnica Timișoara players FCSB players FCSB II players Gabala SC players Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia and Montenegro Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia and Montenegro Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan Expatriate men's footballers in Azerbaijan 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen